


From the Moment

by viklikesfic (v_angelique)



Category: Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Vampire, First Time, M/M, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-01-05
Updated: 2008-01-05
Packaged: 2017-10-20 09:29:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/211291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/v_angelique/pseuds/viklikesfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dominic and Sean meet for the first time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From the Moment

**Author's Note:**

> The Tangled Histories verse exists in a world where the existence of vampires is known and accepted, and a handful of vampire families make up somewhere between two and ten percent of the world population. In this verse, vampires are not affected by sunlight and there is no great universal conflict between mortals and immortal. Vampires generally only take human blood that is offered willingly, and there are plenty of humans willing to offer. They can only die from not feeding enough and perhaps a few other rare conditions. The most important things to these vampires are age, family, and respect. Various pairings will be explored in the verse, and stories may jump around the chronology, but I'm going to try to write so that they can be read as standalones. In other words, I'm trying to avoid a WIP series, and there's no telling how long it'll take me to tell these stories, but they'll appear sporadically and all be listed under the Tangled Histories heading in my fic index.

  
If meeting Dominic had been the start to a film, Sean fancies the directors would have chosen some dramatic sixties anthem, perhaps "Fortunate Son" or "Helter Skelter," to set the scene. The camera would've dropped down over London, seeking out Dominic as he walked with confidence down a London street, perhaps in Piccadilly circus, bopping his head to some inner rhythm.

When they met, it was the Summer of Love – 1969 – and twenty-three year old Dominic was a cocky son of a bitch who thought himself to be on top of the world. Sean, on the other hand, was having a bad century, and things like the Vietnam War and rock 'n' roll music just pissed him off. It was lucky then, that Dominic happened to have a very well off uncle, and that as much as Dominic couldn't stand toffs or money, he'd wandered into the gentleman's club that afternoon, looking to start trouble.

"On guard."

It was a scene out of a James Bond movie – from the outside, the building looked almost like a small palace, situated just outside the city centre in a well-to-do neighbourhood. Indoors, the gentleman's club offered every amenity, from a lounge with well stocked bar and cigar collection to an Olympic swimming pool and gymnasium in the basement. What had caught Dominic's attention was a large room that adjoined the grand library. He knew this particular club was known for several accomplished fencers, and in general for its members' attentions to traditional arts that were going out of fashion, for its disdain for the revolutionary attitudes sweeping Europe. He hadn't been quite prepared, however, for the grandness of the room the fencers used or the sheer male athleticism on display. Though the fencers' bodies were covered all in white, broken only by the black of their masks, he knew the taller one had to be beautiful. He didn't move quite as quickly as his opponent, not quite as graceful, but he obviously knew what he was doing. His movements said, to Dominic, that he was humouring his opponent, that he knew he could deliver the winning blow at any time.

When the stranger won the match and removed his mask, a boyish grin lighting his face just before he exchanged the formalities, Dominic decided he had to meet this man.

"Looks like you've done that before," he commented cheekily as the tall blonde gentleman stood off to one side of the floor, watching another pair begin their match as he towelled the sweat off his face.

The man raised an eyebrow at Dominic and then nodded. "Once or twice."

"Why did you learn?'"

Not where, but why. Dominic wasn't sure how, but he knew the reason before the other man uttered it. "For survival."

Dom licked his lower lip. There was something about the way the man held himself, something about his eyes… _You're a vampire_ , he realised, but did not speak. He didn't want to be a groupie like his roommate at university who'd been obsessed with vampires – convinced, in fact, that Paul McCartney was one of the undead and hell bent on finding that young celebrity and convincing him to administer just one bite. No, Dominic wasn't like that, and so he found another question in his quickly swirling thoughts.

"What's your name?"

"Sean," the man replied with a little ironic bow. "And yours?"

"Dominic."

"You're a little young to be here, aren't you, Dominic?"

He frowned and stuck his chin out just a little. "My uncle's a member. I'm allowed in, same as you."

Sean smiled and nodded. "Family connections are important in a place like this."

"Could you teach me how to fence?"

Dominic wasn't sure why he'd asked, but he'd always been brazen and he really did want to learn. His mother had always said he needed a hobby.

Sean looked at him for a moment, appraising, and then nodded. "Come with me."

"I'm really not the best instructor," Sean admitted when they took a break, Dominic panting as he sat against the wall of the downstairs gym, his legs spread out in front of him. Sean was standing, and looked as if he'd been playing chess or something for the past hour. Dominic tried to summon some annoyance, but didn't have the energy.

"I do it all on instinct," Sean continued. "No one ever taught me. Sabers are uncomfortable for me, anyway, and epees and foils are so much worse. We used to use heavier swords, and it's so much different when you're fighting for your life."

Dominic nodded. "I'm a pacifist," he informed Sean, though it seemed silly.

Sean chuckled and shook his head. "Anyone ever tried to kill you, Dominic?"

He frowned. "No."

"Well then." Another moment passed and Sean frowned, crouching down in front of Dominic and cocking his head to the side. "Are you all right? You look very red."

"I'm… a little dizzy," Dominic admitted, only just realising it himself. "I don't usually get this much exercise in one go," he added, trying to make a joke of it.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Dominic said quickly, with a wide grin. "Haven't had this much fun in months. I thought I'd just come round and piss some people off, and here I get some exercise out of it instead."

Sean returned the smile. "Can I get you anything?"

"Um… water?" Dominic asked, smiling sheepishly. Sean nodded and returned a minute later with a bottle of it.

"Sorry. I'm not used to taking care of humans."

Dominic laughed, as it wasn't that he was a baby or dog. Of course, neither of them had said out loud that Sean was a vampire, but both knew that Dominic was aware.

"What's your birthday?" Dominic asked after he'd had several refreshing gulps of water.

Sean frowned. "What?"

"Your birthday. You have to have been born sometime."

"The year?"

"No, the day."

"Oh." Sean frowned again. "I'm sorry, it's just… well no one's ever asked. I mean, outside of my family."

Dominic smiled reassuringly. "It's okay if you don't remember."

"No… no, I do. It was the fourth of August."

"Hey! That's next week."

Sean smiled. "I suppose it is."

"Got any big plans?"

"No. It's not something I normally celebrate. Well… my fathers threw a bit of a party when I turned five hundred, or as close as they could guess to the year. We spent a year or two trying to figure out when it would be… anyway, that was nice. I suppose… well I suppose it was more of an orgy than a party, but it was nice," Sean admitted with a sheepish smile. Dominic burst out laughing and tipped back another swallow of water before he responded.

"Birthday orgy sounds pretty brilliant to me, mate," Dominic said with a little eyebrow wiggle.

Sean smiled and settled down against the wall next to him. "It was nice," he repeated. "It was 1608, in Paris. Henry IV was in power, and it was a bad time to be a Protestant, but if you kept to yourself France wasn't a bad place to be. We were still for the most part unknown, but it wasn't so hard to find willing humans to donate a little blood, even then." Sean paused and turned to face Dominic, pulling out of his own memory. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to offend you…"

"No," Dominic said, shaking his head. "I'm not bothered. You did what you had to in order to eat, I suppose. Though it is a bit of a comfort that you lot tend to ask these days," he added with a little smile.

"I always asked," Sean said firmly, and Dominic nodded. "Well," he corrected himself. "When I had a choice. I was born in violent times, and sometimes necessity demanded…"

"Hey," Dominic said gently, laying one hand on Sean's knee. "It's all right. You don't need to defend your choices to me. I can't imagine what it would have been like. Even… well even what it was like twenty-five years ago. I just missed being born in violent times myself."

Sean nodded. "Was your father in the military?"

"House of Lords," Dominic said with a little snort. "Send the poor kids to die, don't they? Usually."

Sean nodded again, in agreement. "They usually do."

"Were you?" Dominic asked curiously. "One of the poor kids sent to die?"

Sean shrugged. "One of the ignorant ones, and I was no child when I was sent to fight. At least not in human reckoning. But I learnt what I needed to. I'm still here."

Dominic nodded. He realised belatedly that his hand was still on Sean's thigh, but he didn't bother moving it, as they were both comfortable. "I suppose that's why I'm a pacifist. It might be different if the right people were fighting the wars, but they never are. It's too bad your lot can't change the world. You would think…"

"Human politics aren't our concern. We aren't meant to play Gods."

"My roommate was a vampire fan, you might say. He thinks you're all just the bees' knees, but then he goes to this sleazy pub where vampires line up to bite him, and it doesn't make sense to me. They might be nice blokes, but it doesn't seem like it. I don't think I'd want to run across one of them in a dark alley." _Unlike you_ , goes unsaid.

"No," Sean agreed. "You wouldn't. I know the sort of pub you mean. We can't all be the good guys, anyway. It isn't that simple. You've never been bitten," he added, and Dominic frowned.

"What's that got to do with anything?" He didn't ask, 'how do you know?' because he assumed Sean could sense it somehow.

"It doesn't. I was just making an observation. You aren't a 'fan.'"

Dominic laughed. "I don't know," he said with a cheeky little smile. "I might be, now."

Sean laughed even louder, throwing his head back. "What are you, on the pull?"

Dominic grinned. "I'm always on the pull, baby. What do you say I buy you dinner for your birthday?"

"Dinner?" Sean raised an eyebrow.

"Well I can't quite afford what you'd consider dinner, mate. Rent boys are expensive this days," he said with a wink. "But if you don't mind steak and potatoes."

Sean smiled and nodded. "I enjoy red meat. Red wine, too."

"I detect a theme," Dominic teased.

"Oh, don't worry," Sean returned, a bit of mischief in his eyes. "I only bite on the second date."

"That's amazing!" Dominic exclaimed, loudly enough to draw attention from the adjacent diners. Sean had told the story about he and Alan's mischief at the Vatican with an increasing amount of relish, nearly knocking over his wine glass as he gestured, and it was clear from his excitement that he didn't go on dates all that often. "I've always kind of wanted to go to Italy. I did an A-level in art history."

"I used to sculpt, a little. I wasn't very good at it."

"When was this?"

"Um…" Sean tapped a finger to his chin, thinking. "Fifteen hundreds, I think? What can I say? The Renaissance was inspiring."

Dominic laughed and took another sip of wine, just as a waiter set their desserts down. "Oh!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "You have to try these cannolis, you really do." Breaking one in half with his hands, foregoing fork and knife in a rush of childish enthusiasm, he held one pastry tube to Sean's lips, only realising as an afterthought how the action looked. Sean held Dominic's eyes, however, as he ate the pastry and then, completely unexpectedly, licked the cream from Dominic's fingers with a deft tongue.

"Delicious," he proclaimed in a deep tone entirely out of proportion to a critique of the dessert. Dominic's cock throbbed in his trousers, and he felt an urge to be taken by this man that made him blush profusely, never having been a vampire fanatic and always having been a little annoyed by those who were. His brain remained in a fog throughout the rest of the meal, and he barely noticed the amusement on Sean's face when he commandeered the bill and paid, nor the fact, even, that Sean wasn't supposed to be paying at all.

"Shite," Dominic muttered to himself as they emerged from the restaurant, the cool rain breaking his lust-induced haze. "Fucking London."

Sean laughed and tugged him by one hand out onto the pavement and down the street. "A little water won't hurt you," he declared, leading Dominic around the corner and into the alley where Sean had parked his car. Dominic had hardly had the time to think about their destination when Sean pressed him up against a brick wall, his lips practically devouring Dominic's, the young man letting out an embarrassingly needy moan. "I won't bite you," Sean promised in a quiet murmur. "I just want to…"

"No," Dominic interrupted him, hardly believing what he was about to say. "I _want_ you to bite me," he whispered, knowing the vampire could hear him over the rain, and then back-pedalled, realising how much he sounded like one of the boys who frequented the vampire clubs and how much he wanted Sean to know that he was not one of those boys, that it was _Sean_ he wanted so badly. "I've never wanted this," he said quickly. "You don't have to… but I want…"

"Yes," Sean growled, low in his belly, stroking the side of Dominic's face. "Christ, yes. So sweet…" Bending his head, Sean pressed his lips to Dominic's neck, and his whole body tensed, waiting for the pain, but it didn't come. Sean licked and sucked at his throbbing pulse, but his fangs didn't extend. "Come home with me. Will you trust me? I want you to come home with me."

Dominic nodded hurriedly. "Yes, I will, I…" He paused, licking his lips and meeting Sean's eyes. "I want to."

"You taste," Sean gasped, lying naked on top of Dominic in a huge bed with sheets boasting a higher thread count than Dominic thought existed, licking his neck, "so fucking good. Rainwater, and salt, and fuck… _Dominic_."

Dominic groaned needily, pushing his hips up, needing more contact. He loved that the vampire didn't give a fuck that they were getting his bed wet, and he loved how _hungry_ Sean looked, and the fact that despite this he wasn't going immediately for Dominic's vein.

"Need," Dominic moaned, his head tossing from side to side and his whole body unnaturally warm, as if he were suffering from a fever. " _You_."

"God, do you know how beautiful you look?" Sean purred, licking between his collarbones, then looking up and meeting Dominic's eyes firmly, stroking his cheek. "I don't do this," he said firmly. "I want you to know that this isn't… I mean it's not just a bloody supper, all right?"

Dominic giggled in spite of himself. "Well it _is_ going to be a fairly bloody supper, I should think."

Sean rolled his eyes and kissed him. "You know what I mean. I'm not good with words, but…"

Dominic nodded, cutting him off. "I know. Make love to me, will you?" he asked. He'd never said it in that way, and it made him feel vulnerable, but he didn’t care. "And… bite me when you're inside."

Sean's body shuddered, and he closed his eyes momentarily, then nodded. "Yes. I like that, yes."

"Do it, then," Dominic said clearly, his eyes meeting Sean's in challenge. The vampire growled and pressed their lips together, as well as their bodies, rubbing in a messy frottage where limbs knocked together and no one cared, desperately shifting and re-positioning to try to get that much closer.

"We need something," Sean gasped in between kisses. "Lubricant, fuck…"

Dominic laughed and pushed his face into Sean's neck. "Don't you have any?"

Sean shook his head. "Been a while since I fucked anyone."

"Really?"

Sean shrugged. "Last time it was another vampire. Family. Doesn't hurt like it does a human."

Dominic raised an eyebrow. "Family?"

"Well, yeah. Vampire family. My brother. You don't know about…?"

"Vaguely."

"We love each other," Sean explained simply, and Dominic nodded.

"All right. Still doesn't solve this lube problem, though."

Sean frowned. "Can we use something… lotion? Oil? I know that works. It's messy, but if you don't mind a shower after…?"

"Get it," Dominic agreed eagerly, and Sean grinned and was down to the kitchen and back practically before Dominic could blink.

"Jesus. You're fast."

"When I'm horny, yes."

Dominic laughed and arranged himself comfortably against the pillows, spreading his legs and watching intently as Sean twisted the cap off and poured onto his fingers, intelligently holding them over the kitchen towel he'd also retrieved to keep the oil off the bedspread.

"One at a time, now," Dominic warned with a nervous laugh. "I haven't been fucked since I graduated."

"When was that?" Sean asked curiously, pushing one in slowly and gently enough so that all Dominic could do was let out a happy moan.

"Year ago."

Sean laughed and shook his head. "So young."

"Yeah, well, we can't all have been best buds with Michelangelo."

Sean grinned and twisted his finger a little, finding Dominic's prostate and exploiting the knowledge ruthlessly. "Didn't know him, but my father fucked him once."

"Your _father_?"

"My sire. The one who turned me. It really wasn't done for grown men to bottom in those days, but my father is a very convincing sort of bloke."

"Jesus."

Sean smiled and pushed in with a second finger.

"Tell me about your family," Dominic requested.

"You really want to know?"

"Yeah," Dominic agreed. "Both families, if you… I mean, if you don't mind."

"Oh," Sean replied, frowning and stilling for a moment. "I'm sorry, no one's… no one asks about the first one anymore."

Dominic smiled and reached up to caress his brow. "They were the ones who made you who you are, though. Started the ball rolling, at least."

"My parents died when I was a teenager," Sean said, thrusting his fingers again, but slowly. "That wasn't unusual in those days. My sister lived to see me turn, and I think eventually came to be at peace with my choice. She died when she was forty-two. My fathers – Ian and Alan – are the ones who saved me. I was their first child."

"How old are they?"

"About a hundred years older than I am."

"Fuck, that's good," Dominic muttered as Sean slid a third finger inside. He smiled and kissed Dominic's collarbone.

"My first brother was turned just after my five hundredth birthday."

"After the orgy?" Dominic asked with a smirk.

Sean laughed and nodded. "Yes. His name is Viggo. He is of Danish descent, but Alan found him in America. He was a member of the crew on Henry Hudson's ship, but the other men didn't treat him very well, being a foreigner."

"So Alan rescued him?"

Sean smiled. "They rescued all of us, in one way or the other. Andy was the third, about a hundred years ago."

"Are you all – ah – close?"

"Very," Sean agreed, smiling mischievously and curling his fingers. "I hope you'll meet them sometime."

"Oh!" Dominic gasped. "I'd like to."

"Beautiful pet," Sean murmured. "Gorgeous pet."

"Ohh," Dominic moaned. "Don't know why… God… hearing you say that…"

"You want to be mine?" Sean asked, brushing his lips over Dominic's. "Be my pet?"

"Jesus," Dominic gasped. " _Yes._ "

"Why?" Sean pressed, staring intently at Dominic. "Why do you want this?"

"I just… _know_ ," Dominic moaned. "I don't know how, I just… God… it's _you_."

"Oh God," Sean murmured. "Dominic… need…"

"Take."

Sean moaned and pushed the head of his cock against Dominic's hole. Dominic moaned as Sean breached him, his mouth falling open as he arched his back.

" _Sean_."

"Yes."

Sean's lips touched Dominic's throat in a butterfly brush and Dominic pushed up again, faltering slightly when a thought bumped against the back of his brain.

"Do you… I mean could you… I'm sorry, but do we need a condom?"

Sean smiled and shook his head, brushing his fingertips over Dominic's lips. "You have no reason to, but you can trust me. I would never put you in danger."

Dominic nodded. "I… I know."

"Lovely boy," Sean murmured, kissing his lips. "Don't worry. I can't spread contagious diseases."

"Or get them?"

Sean shook his head, and Dominic smiled. "All right. Harder then, please. Need to feel you. Need to… feed you," he murmured, reaching up to kiss Sean again.

"Fuck," Sean groaned, thrusting forward hard, making Dominic cry out. "You're so… _God_. Don't want to hold back."

"Don't," Dominic moaned.

"Have to… I'd hurt you otherwise. Too strong."

Dominic frowned. "There's no way…?"

"Not unless you really were my pet."

"And how…?"

"Let me have this first," Sean requested gently. "Then…" Sean reached up and brushed his hand over Dominic's face. "If you want it, I want to make you mine."

"Yes," Dominic moaned. "God, I don't understand it, but… it's never… it's just so _obvious_."

"It's all right, love. It's hard for a human to understand, but some things we just… know."

Dominic nodded and grabbed Sean's hips, pushing up harder onto Sean's cock. "Please, please…"

"Beautiful," Sean whispered, sucking at Dominic's neck.

"Does it… does it hurt?"

"I haven't… not in nine hundred years, as a human."

"But…"

"It was amazing. I remember that. It was amazing."

Dom nodded, and then grinned a little. "It's all right. I don't mind a bit of pain."

"No?" Sean grinned and thrust forward, hard, and Dominic screamed, arching his back and clawing at the sheets.

"Sean! Oh, fucking… bite me, god damnit!" he begged. "Bite me!"

Sean growled, animal instinct taking over, and sunk his teeth into the vein, fucking Dominic steadily as he sucked. Dominic gasped at the first prick of pain, but then there was a warm surge as Sean's saliva mixed with his blood, and he moaned as he relaxed his body, just letting Sean take from him. When he came, he barely noticed the aberration in the overall feeling of pleasure and well-being, but Sean obviously noticed the change in the taste of his blood, growling against the wound and pushing deep inside of Dominic, coming hard and pulling away to shout out, bending back down a moment later and licking away the free-flowing blood. When he'd sealed the wound, he cuddled close to Dominic, brushing his hair back and kissing his jaw.

"Are you all right?"

"Ohh," Dominic sighed, his body feeling heavy and warm. "Stay."

"Of course," Sean agreed. "Not letting you go, little one. Lovely boy."

Dominic just smiled and snuggled closer.

"Don't be nervous," Sean murmured in Dominic's ear. They had been seeing each other for three weeks, but the experience was so far from anything Dominic had ever known that it seemed silly to just say they were "seeing" each other. He didn't understand how he could have found his soulmate so immediately, with so little thought or analysis, but somehow he did know, and they were both itching for the transformation, for Dominic to become Sean's pet and start an eternity together. Dominic had noticed Sean getting fiercely protective in these past several weeks, insisting on walking him to and from work and asking Dominic to stay in Sean's house. Not that Dominic minded, but he didn't love thinking that Sean was doing this because he didn't want Dominic to _die_ before he was turned. And now, standing on the porch of this grand old house in Yorkshire, he was positively shaking in his shoes.

"Easy for you to say," he muttered through his teeth as the door swung open to reveal a short, grinning man with short black hair, wearing bell bottoms and a vest with the Union Jack on it.

"Craig, what the _fuck_ are you wearing?" Sean asked, grinning widely and shaking his head, his hand still held comfortingly at the small of Dominic's back. Dominic burst out laughing and shoved Sean.

"Get with the times, old man! I think it's cool."

"Oh, _cool_ , right, my mistake," Sean said, rolling his eyes as Dominic grinned and extended a hand.

"Dominic Monaghan. So if you're Craig, where's your better half? Orlando, right?"

Craig beamed and tugged the young man into a hug. "He's in the living room with the masters of the house," he joked. "Come on in. Everyone's dying to meet you."

"Greeat," Dominic replied, looking terrified again as he stepped into the house.

"Oh, honey, don't you fret. Alan and Ian are some of the sweetest men in the world, I mean it. Sean hasn't fallen in love again in the past nine hundred years, so you must be pretty special, right? They'll love you."

Dominic swallowed hard, his body tensing, and Sean wrapped his arm firmly around Dominic's waist, tucking him in tightly to his side. "Don't worry," he whispered as Craig led them into the living room. It was a grand space, clearly designed for entertaining, but the current set-up was much more cosy than the room's potential, with three loveseats pulled into a triangle around a coffee table, set for tea. Dominic tried to swallow around the dryness in his throat as they approached, seeing the eyes of the two men who looked a little older than the rest fixed firmly on him, and found that he couldn't.

Sean led him to sit on the empty loveseat, and then bent over the coffee table to give each of the men a kiss, Craig and the other young-looking man on the third loveseat giving Dominic encouraging smiles.

"Sean," the white-haired man said with a fond smile, chucking him under the chin. "The poor thing's shaking like a leaf. Offer him something to drink."

"Oh," Sean said, looking duly scolded as he sat down next to Dominic. "Sorry, love, I, um… well I told you I don't know much about taking care of humans," he admitted with a sheepish smile, earning quiet laughter from the others in the room. "Tea?"

Dominic nodded. "Yes, please," he croaked out embarrassingly. _Stupid fucking throat._

Sean poured him some tea, stirred in the sugar, and he took a healthy sip, not even caring that it burned his mouth and throat on the way down. "That's better," he said softly, his eyes on his lap. "Sorry."

"Hey," Sean said gently, resting a hand on his thigh. "You're fine. Don't be nervous."

"Our home is yours, Dominic," the white-haired man offered in a low, comforting voice that at the same time had a commanding nature behind it. Dominic imagined that he was a little like a kind grandfather, if your grandfather had been a general in a major war or something of that nature. "Please don't be frightened of us; we would never do harm to anyone our children love."

Dominic nodded, though he couldn't quite look up.

"I'm… um… Dominic Monaghan… well… I suppose you already know that… oh, bloody hell," he exclaimed as his shaking hand sloshed a bit of tea onto the saucer. Sean took the cup and saucer from him, looking concerned, as Ian smiled and reached out, tipping Dominic's chin up with two fingers.

"Really, child, please. Don't be frightened. My name is Ian McKellen, and I am very pleased to meet you. This is Alan, my lover."

"It's…um… a pleasure to meet you both, sir," he stuttered.

Ian smiled kindly and shook his head, drawing his hand away. "No need to call me sir, Dominic."

"But you're… you're so much older than me, sir."

"As is Sean, and I don't imagine you call him sir. Do you?" Ian asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dominic shook his head. "Well, no."

"There you are, then. Please, call us by our first names. And relax, Dominic. We want you to be comfortable while you're here."

"I'm sorry, s… Ian. I'm trying, it's just… I don't want to screw up."

"What is it you're afraid you might do?" Alan asked. "You love Sean, do you not?"

"With all my heart," Dominic replied without hesitation.

"Then there's nothing you could do wrong here," Alan replied. "You should have seen some of the hijinx Craig and Orlando got up to when they first came to us. You couldn't imagine."

Dominic allowed himself a small smile, and Craig and Orlando had the good nature to blush.

"You know what I think is wrong here?" Sean asked. "It's too bloody 'meet the parents,' that's what it is."

"But they _are_ your parents," Dominic pointed out.

"Well in a manner of speaking, yes," Sean agreed. "But they're so much more than that, and I think your mortal mind is a little stuck on the conventional notions of parenthood – pardon me for saying so. I mean, Dominic, think about it. These men made me, but they've also been my _lovers_ for nearly a thousand years. I promise nothing bad will happen if you relax a little." Dominic blushed and stared at his lap again.

"Um. What do you mean, relax?"

"Oh, for God's sake," Sean grumbled, pulling Dominic in to his body and initiating a long, claiming kiss, one hand on the back of Dominic's head and the other on his thigh. At first, Dominic remained tense, alert, and intensely embarrassed, but when Sean showed no sign of stopping, and instead continued quite insistently, he had no choice but to relax into the kiss, moaning as Sean plundered his mouth even further before pulling back with a satisfied grin. "Now come _here_ ," he insisted, leaning back against one arm of the couch and tugging Dom between his legs. "Jesus. You humans can be so uptight."

"Hey!" Dominic exclaimed. "I am not uptight! This immortality thing takes just a wee bit of adjustment, you know?"

Alan smiled as he offered Dom and Sean sandwiches. "Had you never met another vampire, before Sean?"

"Well," Dominic replied. "Not on an intimate basis, like. I've seen your kind, you know, out and about. My roommate was obsessed with vampires, so he was always talking about them – about you – but I didn't pay much attention. I didn't see what the big fuss was."

"And do you now?" Ian asked, his eyes showing clear amusement.

"Well, beg your pardon sir, but not really. _Sean's_ bloody fucking amazing, but I'm not ready to fall to my knees for any member of the race just yet."

"Good," Sean grunted, holding a sandwich to Dom's lips. "I wouldn't want you to."

"Have you mentioned droit du seigneur?" Ian asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm just saying, you have a lovely young lad here, and it might be a consideration."

"No, he hasn't," Dom answered. "What's that?"

Sean brushed some hair back from Dominic's face, holding the teacup to his lips. "Right of the sire. It just means that if a vampire takes a pet, or turns a man to a vampire, his sire has the right to… erm… well to feed from that pet or vampire, or to have sex with him."

" _Oh_ ," Dominic replied, his eyes darting nervously from Ian to Alan. "No, I'm afraid he forgot to mention that part."

"Relax, Dominic," Ian said gently. "We would never do anything to anyone who didn't want it. Ever. Right or no, that isn't the kind of vampires we are. It isn't the kind of _men_ we are. Not all vampires are the same, but you can count on that much with us. Nothing more than you want or desire."

Dominic nodded. "Thank you."

"Now," Alan suggested, his smile gentle. "Have some tea."

"Do you remember it?" Dominic asked as he and Orlando walked though the lavish grounds behind the house. Orlando had offered to show him around a little while Sean caught up on business with his fathers.

"What?" Orlando asked. "Becoming their pet?"

Dominic nodded. "Yeah. What was it like?"

"I don't remember it perfectly," Orlando admitted. "We were in a bad way. Craig was so badly beaten he was almost dead, and I was hysterical, as you can imagine. They just… told us what they were, and offered us eternal life if we wanted it, together, with them. All we heard was alive, together, and safe, and we agreed."

"But do you regret it?"

"Not in the slightest," Orlando replied with a smile. "Maybe I would have, had it been other vampires, but not Ian and Alan. This is the most wonderful family you could ever hope to be a part of, Dominic. My birth family and I were… well there was animosity, to put it nicely. But this family is amazing, and Craig and I have been so happy here."

"Does it hurt? The change, I mean."

"Not becoming a pet," Orlando replied. "You drink their blood after they bite you, and then you feel a little weak for a while, maybe a few days, and then it's like nothing's happened. I actually didn't believe it, for a while. I mean we're still essentially human. We still breathe and sweat and sleep and eat. We're not any stronger than a normal human being, and we aren't impervious to pain. But we don't age, and we can't die of natural causes. It wasn't until I turned forty and still looked twenty five that I realised it really was true."

Dominic smiled. "Well, I suppose that's one benefit. I'll never have to give up my rugged good looks."

Orlando burst out laughing and clapped him on the back. "You'll make a good brother, Dominic. I can tell."

"I now pronounce you," Dominic whispered sleepily, smiling up at Sean as he nursed the wound on his wrist shut and cuddled up to Dominic. "Man and vampire."

Sean laughed and stroked his hair back. "Feel any different yet?"

"Tired. A little hungry. Can't be arsed to move, though," Dominic admitted, cuddling close.

"Can I get you something?"

"Not a chance. I don't trust you in modern kitchens. Just hold me for now."

"All right," Sean agreed with a smile and a kiss to Dominic's temple. "I can do that."

"Can you really promise me forever?" Dominic asked, quietly, after a few minutes of silence. "I feel like a little girl, you know. Vulnerable."

"I can," Sean agreed, pressing a hand to Dominic's chest. "And I have. We're very loyal creatures, you know. We're hard to get, but once you have one of us, you're stuck with us."

"Well _you_ weren't very hard to get," Dominic pointed out. "Fence a little, ask a bloke his birthday, and suddenly he's yours."

Sean laughed and kissed his hair. "I was yours before that."

"You were?"

"I was yours the moment I saw you."

"Oh." Dominic looked up and smiled, kissing Sean's neck and closing his eyes as he rested his head on Sean's chest. "That's good, then. I was yours the moment I saw your smile."


End file.
